3 ms·

Craigslist has been incredibly consistent about its position. It would be shocking of Krrb didn't get a C&D. The author's mock surprise and petty insults come

Craigslist has been incredibly consistent about its position. It would be shocking of Krrb didn't get a C&D. The author's mock surprise and petty insults come off really pathetic given this is clearly a planned publicity stunt. CL is simple, unobtrusive, and doesn't make its users feel like it's try to monetize every click or pageview. That's why the dominate the market. I love it that they sue the hell out of anyone that tries to ride on their coattails. If they're doing it wrong, someone can prove it buy building a better classified ad site and clean up the market. EDIT: since I'm getting downvoted anyway, and I have no conflict of interest (not a CL employee, relative, and very infrequent user).... pg, instead of posting stuff like this, you have unique resources at your disposal to build a CL clone that behaves in the way you wish CL would behave. How hard could it be? Or is it that building up and operating a classified listing site while allowing 3rd party sites to repost your listings is a money loser?

tempestn 13y ago
No, it's that craigslist has massive network effects working for them, so there's no incentive for buyers or sellers to use a different site, even with a better interface and feature set. 3taps is alleging that this monopoly position, combined with craigslist's legal and technical efforts to block any innovation that makes use of data posted on craigslist, constitutes anti-competitive behavior. Whether that assertion has legal merit I don't know, but it seems we'll soon find out. Edit: Ironically, Krrb itself is essentially an attempt to create this 'better craigslist' you describe. They attempted to deal with the craigslist monopoly problem by providing an easy way for users to post on both craigslist and Krrb, for which they received the C&D.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- rhizome 13y ago
  They attempted to deal with the craigslist monopoly problem by providing an easy way for users to post on both craigslist and Krrb, for which they received the C&D. Is it unfair to observe that the way to create a new craigslist should not depend on content already posted on CL? Of course, if krrb or whoever was the source of the content which it then autoposted to CL, they would run afoul of the autoposting prohibitions on CL that Craig does not enforce (or is being paid not to enforce) against the third-party resume sites (jobvite, sourcery, etc.) that have been ruining the CL jobs section over the past couple of years.
  - tempestn 13y ago
    It's a tough question. If craigslist truly does have a monopoly, then it indeed might be fair for competitors to have some use of content already posted on craigslist. Also, in the case of Krrb it's the user posting the content, who owns the copyright to such content, using their own computer to copy it to Krrb. Krrb is simply providing a tool for them to do so more easily. That certainly seems like it should be acceptable.
    - rhizome 13y ago
      Well, then lets cut to the chase: does Craigslist have a monopoly? If so, in what way are they using it illegally?
      - tempestn 13y ago
        You can read 3taps' antitrust claims submission here: https://3taps.com/papers/3taps_Amended_Counterclaim.pdf https://3taps.com/papers/3taps_Amended_Counterclaim.pdf The 'Nature of the Case' section at the beginning provides their allegations regarding craigslist's monopoly. IANAL so I don't feel qualified to discuss the legal merits, although reading the claims they at least sound worth investigating.

tempestn 13y ago

No, it's that craigslist has massive network effects working for them, so there's no incentive for buyers or sellers to use a different site, even with a better interface and feature set. 3taps is alleging that this monopoly position, combined with craigslist's legal and technical efforts to block any innovation that makes use of data posted on craigslist, constitutes anti-competitive behavior. Whether that assertion has legal merit I don't know, but it seems we'll soon find out. Edit: Ironically, Krrb itself is essentially an attempt to create this 'better craigslist' you describe. They attempted to deal with the craigslist monopoly problem by providing an easy way for users to post on both craigslist and Krrb, for which they received the C&D.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
rhizome 13y ago
They attempted to deal with the craigslist monopoly problem by providing an easy way for users to post on both craigslist and Krrb, for which they received the C&D. Is it unfair to observe that the way to create a new craigslist should not depend on content already posted on CL? Of course, if krrb or whoever was the source of the content which it then autoposted to CL, they would run afoul of the autoposting prohibitions on CL that Craig does not enforce (or is being paid not to enforce) against the third-party resume sites (jobvite, sourcery, etc.) that have been ruining the CL jobs section over the past couple of years.
- tempestn 13y ago
  It's a tough question. If craigslist truly does have a monopoly, then it indeed might be fair for competitors to have some use of content already posted on craigslist. Also, in the case of Krrb it's the user posting the content, who owns the copyright to such content, using their own computer to copy it to Krrb. Krrb is simply providing a tool for them to do so more easily. That certainly seems like it should be acceptable.
  - rhizome 13y ago
    Well, then lets cut to the chase: does Craigslist have a monopoly? If so, in what way are they using it illegally?
    - tempestn 13y ago
      You can read 3taps' antitrust claims submission here: https://3taps.com/papers/3taps_Amended_Counterclaim.pdf https://3taps.com/papers/3taps_Amended_Counterclaim.pdf The 'Nature of the Case' section at the beginning provides their allegations regarding craigslist's monopoly. IANAL so I don't feel qualified to discuss the legal merits, although reading the claims they at least sound worth investigating.